Port Canaveral welcomed Carnival Cruise Line’s Carnival Freedom on her first call to the port on Friday at a dockside ceremony as the ship prepared for her inaugural sailing from the Port’s Cruise Terminal 6.

The Carnival Freedom, which will be homeported at Port Canaveral, will offer four- and five-night itineraries to The Bahamas and the Eastern Caribbean, with stops in Nassau, Princess Cays, Bimini, Freeport, Amber Cove, Grand Turk and Half Moon Cay, according to a press release.

“We’re excited to welcome Carnival Freedom to the fleet of Carnival cruise ships homeported at Port Canaveral,” stated Capt. John Murray, Port CEO. “Her arrival adds even more quality cruise sailings available from our Port. We’re very proud of our longstanding partnership with Carnival Cruise Line, and our collective efforts to provide an exceptional cruising experience.”

“Having Carnival Freedom join Mardi Gras, Carnival Liberty and Carnival Magic sailing from Port Canaveral to The Bahamas and Eastern Caribbean offers yet another option for our guests to enjoy all the fun a Carnival cruise offers from one of our most popular homeports,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line. “This is an exciting time for Carnival, as we just reached the milestone of our biggest booking week ever and the celebration of our 50th birthday. Our return to full guest operations continues to be successful thanks to our loyal guests and valued partners, like the team at Port Canaveral.”

In keeping with tradition, Port executives presented Carnival Freedom Capt. Josip Mladina with a plaque marking the cruise ship’s first visit to Port Canaveral.

Photo: (L-R) Rene Jewell, Carnival Freedom Hotel Director, Carnival Freedom Capt. Josip Mladina, Capt. John Murray, Canaveral Port Authority CEO, Rachel Green, Carnival HR Director, Agostino Ceserale, Carnival Freedom Chief Engineer dockside at Cruise Terminal 6. (Photo: Canaveral Port Authority)